THIS WEEKEND Moviegoers
were in the mood for vampires and werewolves as the sci-fi sequel Underworld:
Evolution made an impressive bow at number one easily leading
the North American box office to a solid winter frame. Other new releases
did not put much of a dent into the marketplace, but Golden Globe winners
saw sales spikes as audiences flocked to see some of the more acclaimed
films. Two of last year's hits crossed the $100M mark over the weekend
while most major holdovers remained strong in their sophomore frames.

Generating the fourth largest debut ever for a January opener was the
vampire thriller Underworld: Evolution
which soared to $26.9M this weekend, according to final
studio figures. The R-rated film stars Kate Beckinsale (and her tight leather
pants) and averaged a meaty $8,375 from 3,207 theaters. The Sony sequel
flew higher than the $21.8M bow and $7,463 average of the first Underworld
which debuted in September 2003. It went on to gross $52M domestically.
Young men were the dominant force, as expected, with studio research showing
that 55% of the crowd was male and 54% was under 25. Most new films premiering
at this time of year do not reach the heights of Evolution.
The only films opening or expanding nationally in January to debut stronger
were Star Wars: Special Edition with
$35.9M in 1997, Black Hawk Down with
$28.6M in 2002, and Along Came Polly
with $27.7M in 2004.

The hit animated comedy Hoodwinked added
over 600 theaters to its run and enjoyed the smallest decline in the top
ten dipping only 16%. In its second weekend, the PG-rated toon held onto
second place with $10.4M from 3,002 locations. After ten days, The Weinstein
Company release has grossed a solid $28.6M and should find its way to at
least $60-70M at the box office. Hoodwinked's
per-theater average of $3,467 dropped 33% from last weekend's three-day
figure. Word of mouth has been very good for the Little Red Riding Hood
tale and a sequel is already in development.

Another film pleasing audiences is Disney's college basketball drama
Glory Road which fell from first to
third with $8.8M. The PG-rated film declined 36% in its sophomore frame
and posted $27.7M in ten days. The drop was a bit more than what the studio
has seen with its other inspirational sports films like the hockey saga
Miracle and the baseball pic The
Rookie which each experienced second weekend declines of about
27%. Glory could go on to score around
$55M.

The Queen Latifah comedy Last Holiday
also held up well grossing $8.7M, off 32%, for a ten-day cume of $26M.
Budgeted at about $45M, the Paramount release should reach roughly $50M.

After winning four Golden Globes, Focus expanded its cowboy romance
Brokeback Mountain this weekend widening
from 683 to 1,196 theaters and collected $7.4M giving the film its best
gross yet. The acclaimed Ang Lee film climbed to the number five spot and
averaged a solid $6,213 per site. Brokeback,
which won Globes for Best Picture - drama and Best Director, has now taken
in $41.7M to date. The validation from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
helped the film to reach a broader audience and its expected Oscar nominations
next week should continue to make it a must-see film for more moviegoers.

Falling 38% to seventh place was Disney's The
Chronicles of Narnia with $6.2M which boosted the fantasy adventure's
tally to $271.9M. That allowed the megahit to surpass Shrek
on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters and reach number 28 behind
the $279.2M of Meet the Fockers. Narnia
still looks capable of passing Harry Potter and
the Goblet of Fire to become the second largest blockbuster
released in 2005.

Jim Carrey scored the tenth $100M hit of his career over the weekend
with Fun with Dick and Jane which took
in $5.8M in its fourth weekend. Down only 34%, the Sony title rose to $101.4M
in 26 days and on Sunday became the twentieth wide release of 2005 to reach
the century mark.

Opening in eighth place was the new Amazon adventure film End
of the Spear which grossed $4.3M from 1,163 theaters for a moderate
$3,681 average. Released by independent distributor Rocky Mountain, the
PG-13 film is a drama about the son of a missionary who travels to Ecuador
to learn about the death of his father. Horror flick Hostel
tumbled 57% to $4.2M in its third weekend and landed in ninth place with
a cume to date of $42.7M.

In its sixth attack, Universal's King Kong
rounded out the top ten grossing $4.2M, off 44%, boosting the
cume to $209.9M. The Peter Jackson epic now stands as the fifth biggest
blockbuster of 2005 and should find its way to about $220M domestically.
Overseas, the ape flick grossed an estimated $8.5M this weekend boosting
the international total to $310M. Produced for a mammoth $207M, King
Kong has grossed $520M worldwide thus far and hopes to make
it to the $600M mark.

New Line opened nationally the Terrence Malick historical drama The
New World but landed outside the top ten with $4M from 811 theaters
for a $4,969 average. The Colin Farrell film has collected $4.2M overall
as it played in limited release at the end of December to qualify for Oscar
consideration.

Warner Independent opened the Albert Brooks film Looking
for Comedy in the Muslim World in limited play and grossed $429,223
from 161 theaters for an average of $2,666. The PG-13 film finds the comedian
being sent to India and Pakistan to write a government report on what makes
Muslims laugh.

Two films were pushed out of the top ten over the weekend. Fox's period
romance Tristan & Isolde tumbled
52% in its second weekend to $3.2M for a ten-day tally of $11.8M. A $17M
final seems likely. The studio's Steve Martin comedy Cheaper
by the Dozen 2 fell by 46% to $2.8M pushing the cume to $78.1M.
The sequel could end with $83M.

The marketplace was also crowded with a number of acclaimed awards contenders
hovering outside the top ten. After sweeping the Comedy/Musical category
at the Globes last Monday, Fox's Walk the Line
shot up a remarkable 73% to $3.1M boosting the cume to $102.1M. On Saturday,
the Joaquin Phoenix-Reese Witherspoon pic became the nineteenth wide release
of 2005 to cross the $100M mark doing the deed a day before Fun
With Dick and Jane.

Universal's Munich grossed $3M,
off 40%, and raised its total to $38M. Though losing out in all four Golden
Globe categories it was nominated in, Woody Allen's Match
Point continued its expansion going from 312 to 441 theaters
and grossed $2.9M. DreamWorks saw a solid $6,657 average and lifted the
sum to $10.2M. Sony's Memoirs of a Geisha,
which won a Globe for Best Score, grossed $2.7M, off only 38%, and saw
its cume grow to $51.2M.

The top ten films grossed $86.9M which was up 11% from last year when
Are We There Yet? opened at number
one with $18.6M; and up 12% from 2004 when The
Butterfly Effect debuted in the top spot with $17.1M.

Compared to projections, Underworld: Evolution
opened a couple of notches above my $24M forecast while Brokeback
Mountain was on target with my $8M prediction. Both End
of the Spear and The New World
also opened very close to my respective projections of $4M and $5M.

Be sure to read the NEW Oscar
Spotlight column. This special seven-week series features one-on-one
interviews with the producers and studio executives behind the most acclaimed
films of the season. The series begins with a talk with James Schamus,
producer of Brokeback Mountain.

For NEW reviews of Nanny McPhee,
Imagine You & Me, Looking
for Comedy in the Muslim World, and a DVD review of Broken
Flowers, visit The
Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday
for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Annapolis,
Nanny McPhee, and Big
Momma's House 2 all open.

This column is updated three times each week:
Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Data source: Exhibitor
Relations and EDI. Opinions expressed
in this column are those solely of the author.